Hello everyone. Thanks to everyone for the reviews. I love them all. So, this is the last chapter (tear). It's ok though, because I'm hoping to have the sequel started in a few days, so be on the lookout for that. :) I really hope that you have enjoyed this story and that it helped to bring a smile to your faces every now and then…anyway, without further ado, here's the last chapter.
Disclaimer: One Tree Hill is not mine, but this story is.
Summary: Nathan Scott is the most popular guy in school and Haley James is just an average girl who happens to be friends with Nathan's half-brother, Lucas. What happens when each of their groups of friends end up staying next door to each other all summer?
A Summer to Remember
Chapter 37
Haley woke up the next morning to find that the other side of her bed was empty. She slowly sat up, thinking that Nathan must be in the bathroom or something, but was quickly filled with panic when she looked over and the bathroom door was open and the lights were off. Had she only dreamt that Nathan returned home safely last night?
Her heart was racing as she threw the blankets off of her and hurriedly made her way around the bed. She started to calm down a little after stumbling over Nathan's shoes. Good, now she knew she hadn't dreamt it and that Nathan was indeed safe, somewhere.
Suddenly, she heard muffled laughs coming from out in the kitchen through her partially closed door. It couldn't be who she thought it was, could it? She made her way over to the door and quietly opened it just enough for her to peek out. Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets at what she saw…Lucas and Nathan…together!
"Yeah, I was always partial to Leonardo." Lucas laughed. Haley instantly knew that they were talking about their favorite characters on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Lucas had been obsessed with the blue ninja turtle when they were growing up! He used to swing his little swords at her and tell her that if she didn't surrender and stop being evil, he would slice her up! He always stopped when Karen told him to though, or when she cried.
"Are you kidding? Raphael was the best." Nathan laughed.
"No way. You're delusional." Lucas joked. "Raphael was always losing his temper. Leonardo was the best one altogether."
"You're both wrong. Donatello was the smartest, and therefore, the best." Haley giggled as she emerged from the bedroom.
"I don't think so." Lucas mocked good-naturedly as Haley came up to them and took a seat on Nathan's lap.
"I'm is shock right now. Are you guys actually talking? Like, having a real conversation?" Haley smiled, obviously proud that her two favorite Scotts were getting along.
"Whoa, don't get ahead of yourself. We were arguing." Lucas corrected with a smile.
"Yes, but you were arguing like brothers, not like enemies." She pointed out as she laid her head against Nathan's shoulder and he brought his arms up to encircle her petite waist.
"Whatever you need to believe." Lucas joked as he turned around and grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge. "So, I think I'm going back into my room…I really don't need to see this." He pretended to cover his eyes when Haley kissed Nathan lightly on the cheek.
Haley started laughing when Lucas walked past them and back into his room. "Ok, so what was that about?"
"What?" Nathan asked innocently.
"You and Lucas, in the same room and not killing each other." She clarified with a large smile that illuminated her face. Maybe there was hope that in the future the brothers would be friends.
"I don't know." Nathan shrugged. "I just woke up this morning and he didn't hate me. It was kind of weird."
"Maybe he's finally seeing how cute you are." Haley suggested playfully.
"You know, I think that's it." Nathan responded sarcastically as he reached his hand up to her chin, gently tilting her face towards him. "Now that Lucas is gone, do I get a real good morning kiss?"
"I don't know, have you been good?" She asked coyly.
"I just talked to Lucas without rolling my eyes, didn't I?"
"You're right. That definitely deserves a reward." She slowly leaned in and captured his lips with her own in a soft and sweet kiss. At this moment, neither of them were thinking about the devastating events of the night before or the enormous task of moving out today, they were just enjoying each other's company. "I have a question." She stated suddenly, pulling back a little so she could look in his eyes.
"Ok, shoot." Nathan encouraged as he returned her gaze. Her eyes got significantly larger and her bottom lip stuck out in her famous puppy dog face. "Oh boy, how much is this going to cost me?" He joked.
"Nothing!" She defended. "I was just wondering if I could maybe ride home with you today, because Brooke has about twice as much luggage now as she did when we first got here because of her weekly shopping sprees, and I don't think there's room for both her stuff and me in the back seat of Lucas's Jeep."
Nathan laughed a little at her question. "Of course you can."
"Thanks. You're officially my favorite boyfriend." She said matter-of-factly.
"Haley, I'm your only boyfriend." He pointed out with a chuckle. She could be so weird sometimes, but that's why he loved her.
"Who told you that?" She asked playfully. Nathan face turned into a fake pout at her words. "But you don't have to worry about the other ones, because, like I said, you're my favorite." She leaned down to kiss him again, but was interrupted by Brooke bursting through the door to Lucas's room in nothing but an oversized T-Shirt.
"Tutor girl and boy, please don't suck face right now because I have a really big problem." She said loudly.
"What is it, Brooke?" Haley groaned as she turned around just enough to send her friend an evil glare. "If this is about a shrunken shirt again, I will be seriously mad at you."
"It's not about a shrunken shirt; it's about all my shirts! Lucas said that there's not going to be enough space in the car for all my stuff!" Brooke huffed as she collapsed onto the couch.
Haley looked back to Nathan and gave him a playful wink. "You know, Brooke, I could just ride home with Nathan." She offered sweetly as the brunette popped her head up from the couch, her eyes fixed on the ceiling as if contemplating the idea.
"No." She answered finally. "I don't want to make you do that…"
"It's really no trouble at all." Haley assured her. "You guys will probably making out every time you make a stop somewhere anyway and I don't want to be a third wheel."
"True." Brooke giggled giddily; she did love to make out with Lucas. "Are you sure you don't mind?"
"Absolutely not. And Nathan doesn't mind driving me, do you?"
Both girls turned to face him and he felt a small laugh threatening to escape. Did he have a choice of what to answer? "Not at all."
"Great!" Brooke clapped her hands excitedly. "Lucas!" She yelled, "There is too room for all my stuff!"
"Peyton," Nathan called as he entered his own condo later that morning.
Peyton stopped packing cans of Coke into a cooler upon hearing his voice and quickly ran up to him, pulling him into a giant bear hug. "I'm so glad you're ok."
"You too. So you and Jake made it back safely I see." He laughed as he left her embrace and grabbed one of the cokes out of the cooler.
"Yeah, thanks for the text by the way. Even if it was at, what, 2:30 in the morning?"
Nathan just smiled. He had woken up in the middle of the night last night and remembered that he never called Peyton. Knowing her, and how much she was probably worrying, he had decided to send her a text message. His phone was out of batteries at the time, so he used Haley's. "My bad, I forgot what time it was."
"No, it's fine. We were both happy to hear from you." Peyton assured him. "How's Haley doing? She seemed pretty freaked out last night on the boat."
"Yeah, she was a little shaken up, but I think she's pretty good now." Nathan automatically stared at the door when he spoke of Haley, knowing that she was right across the hall, probably packing the last of her things as they spoke. "She's riding home with us today."
"Oh, that's great. Now I don't have to listen to you and Tim talk about sports the whole time again." Peyton said cheerfully.
Nathan noticed a certain perkiness in her voice that he wasn't used to hearing. "What exactly is going on with you and Jake, anyway?" He questioned, changing the subject.
"What do you mean?" She smiled as she turned back to the cooler that she had previously been diligently packing.
"I mean, he lives here, and you live in Tree Hill." Nathan clarified. "Are you going to try to make it work?"
"We're going to try." Her face was radiant with joy. Almost the whole summer she had been holding back from Jake, not wanting to get too close, because she knew she was going to have to leave eventually. But last night, Jake had told her that he didn't mind giving the long distance thing a try if it meant being with her. In all reality, Tree Hill was only a good hour from the beach anyway…
"That's great, Peyton." Nathan said sincerely. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he saw her as happy as she was with Jake.
"Yeah…Don't you have some major packing to do? We're leaving in like 2 hours and you still have clothes all over your floor." She pointed out as she closed the cooler and began wiping down the countertop from the melted ice that had escaped onto it.
"Yeah, I should probably start that..." Nathan laughed. He made his way over to the room that had been his for the last 3 months. It was only then that he realized how much had changed over the course of the summer. Unlike when he first arrived, he now had deeper respect for his brother, he had learned discipline from Whitey, and most importantly, he now had the girl he loved beside him.
Speaking of, how fun was it going to be going back to school and seeing the looks on everyone's faces when they found out that they were together? Nathan was sure that it would be a shock, but nevertheless, accepted. That was the good thing about being the king of the school, nobody dared to go against anything you did or said.
He fished his hand around under the bed and found the basketball shorts he had been missing all summer. So that's where they were. He bravely put his hand back under the bed until there were no items left underneath it. He sloppily threw all of his clothes into his large duffel bag and then moved about the room looking for anything he might have left behind.
Nathan then looked at the clock. Packing only took him about 10 minutes, why did girls need so much more time? It was just unnecessary.
"I'm telling you, Deb fabricated the whole thing." Dan said simply as he spoke directly to the chief of police in Tree Hill. This dude was not cracking. Dan had tried every trick he could think of. He claimed temporary insanity, he claimed he had been drugged, and now he was claiming that Deb made it all up, but somehow this guy wouldn't budge.
"Mr. Scott, can you please tell us why you had a man shoot fireworks onto a boat?" The police chief asked in an agitated voice. They had asked Dan this question 4 times already and each time, he came up with a way to change the subject.
"I'm not saying anything until my lawyer is present." Dan said as he stuck his nose in the air like a second grader.
"I am present, Dan." His lawyer spoke up from the corner of the room.
"You see, I didn't even know it. I'm telling you, I'm insane!" Dan yelled.
"Nathan, I need to tell you something, it's about your father." Deb said in a hushed tone as she watched Dan through a one way mirror.
"Ok, what is it?" Nathan asked as he picked up his toothbrush and threw it into his duffel bag.
"He's in jail." She responded bluntly.
"What? Why?" Nathan didn't really care if Dan went to jail or not, but he was interested in hearing the reason behind it.
"The fire on the yacht last night, Nate, that wasn't an accident. Well, it was an accident, but it was your father's fault that the accident happened."
Nathan let out a long breath. It was Dan. He should have known. This information really didn't surprise him at all. Dan was the reason that he, Haley, and many other people could have died last night. Wow, he deserves the father of the year award…
"He's in jail now, and chances are, he'll get a good long sentence. So please don't get too worried over him, he can't hurt you anymore." Deb pleaded. She didn't want to see her son possessed with the same hate that Dan harbored for many people around him.
Nathan looked up as Haley walked into his condo and closed the door behind her. "Mom, I've got to go. Can we talk about this when I get home?"
"Sure sweetie. I'll see you soon." Deb hung up the phone as Nathan did the same.
"Hey." Haley smiled. "I was just wondering if you want me to take my stuff down to the car yet."
"Um, no, I'll get it for you…" Nathan trailed off, trying to decide when it would be best to tell her. He decided that the sooner the better since she would probably find out from the news anyway.
"What is it?" She asked, noticing the way his brow furrowed and his eyes got that far away look.
"What is what?"
"What is what you're thinking?" She laughed.
He paused for a few moments before moving on. "My dad's in jail."
"What? Why?" Haley was astonished to hear this. Why would Dan be in jail?
"He was responsible for the fire last night." Nathan said shortly, watching her face for her reaction.
Haley's eyes grew in disbelief. "What? Your dad?" Nathan nodded his head. "Oh, Nathan I'm so sorry." She quickly made her way over to him and pulled him into a tight hug.
Sorry? He wasn't exactly expecting that reaction.
"I know this must be hard for you." She explained. "I can't even imagine how you must feel right now."
"Actually, I'm fine with it." Nathan said honestly. "At least now he'll be away from me and anyone else he could hurt."
"That's kind-of how I feel." Haley admitted. "I mean, now he'll be somewhere where he can't hurt himself or others."
Nathan smiled a little to himself. It amazed him that she wasn't mad at Dan or scared by him, she was almost forgiving. He was mad, hell, he was furious, but he agreed with her. It was over; Dan was in jail and could never stick his nose where it didn't belong again.
"Where's Nathan? Aren't we supposed to leave now?" Tim whined as he stuffed his pillow into the trunk of Nathan's SUV.
"He had to run back up and get Haley's bags. And Haley." Peyton answered as she added her own suitcase to the trunk.
"Why is Haley coming with us again?" Tim asked as he stared off into space.
A small giggle was heard over by Lucas's Jeep and both Tim and Peyton turned to see Brooke and Lucas full on making out. "That's why." Peyton laughed as she got into the back seat. She had graciously offered Haley her front seat so that she didn't have to suffer in the back with Tim. At least Peyton knew how to handle him.
"Are you guys ready?" Nathan asked as he came up behind them carrying Haley's larger bag. As they nodded, he put her bag into the trunk on top of Peyton's and then grabbed the smaller one from Haley's hands and dropped it in as well.
"Are you sure you're ok to drive?" Haley asked skeptically upon noticing the brown bandage on his hand again.
"I told you, it doesn't even hurt." Nathan defended himself.
"Are you sure? Because I can drive if you-"
"No." He said with a smile. "I'm fine."
"Great, then let's go." She quickly pecked him on the lips before getting into the passenger seat. The other three followed suit and moments later they were pulling out of the parking lot, Lucas and Brooke following close behind.
Haley watched as the place that she had called home for the entire summer faded into the distance. She thought that she would feel sad upon leaving, and she did, but not nearly as sad as she thought she would. Although summer was over, it felt like her life was just beginning. She felt a strange sense of calm take over her as she thought about the guy sitting next to her. Her guy. It almost made her laugh that at the beginning of the summer, she couldn't stand him, and now, she was head over heels in love with him…fate can be so ironic sometimes.
Nathan glanced over to see Haley concentrating on looking at the ocean as it faded away. He couldn't help but smile. He wasn't even thinking about Dan, or even about the events of the previous night, all of those thoughts seemed to vanish every time he looked at her. This summer, he had learned so much; how to escape a burning boat, how not to spray paint grass, how to get extra syrup from a nerdy guy at IHOP. But most importantly, he had learned to love.
Every one of the teenagers had changed somewhat that summer, with the exception maybe of Tim, and all changes were for the better. There were many bad memories that came with the past 3 months, but the good ones far outweighed the bad. Their experiences were all different, but one thing that they could all agree on was that this had been one hell of a summer to remember.
The End